According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Ligue 1 outfit Lille have turned down a £32 million bid from Newcastle United for the signature of French midfielder Boubakary Soumare.

Lille have turned down a bid [€35m add ons includer] from Newcastle for the French midfielder Boubacary Soumaré. ⚪️⚫️ #NUFC #transfers

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 10, 2020

The Magpies’ £35 million bid for the midfielder was accepted by Lille in January, but Soumare wasn’t keen on moving to St. James’ Park and the deal fell through as a result.

I’m fairly certain the midfielder Newcastle came close to signing was Lille’s Boboukary Soumaré. They had a bid of around £35m accepted, but the player chose not to come. Newcastle & Steve Bruce unwilling to confirm this morning #NUFC #DeadlineDay

— Keith Downie (@SkySports_Keith) January 31, 2020

Newcastle boss Steve Bruce is a huge fan of the French youngster as he looks to further strengthen his midfield this summer, but it doesn’t appear that the midfielder has changed his mind yet.

Wolverhampton Wanderers were also keen on signing the 21-year-old last summer, while he has also been recently linked with Liverpool and Real Madrid.

Lille want more than £32 million for Soumare’s signature from the look of things, while the France youth international would also prefer to join one of Europe’s elite clubs in order to play regular Champions League football and challenge for silverware.